Pussywillows

I was busy packing away any trace of winter decor in the house today.  Winter weather has returned before the season exits - snowed yesterday and today.  When Whip and I walked out by the Gorge the geese and mallards were replaced by a thin skim of ice near the water edges.  I watched a short-tailed weasel jump out onto the lawn and back into the tall grass on the hunt.  He was still in his winter whites - just the tip of his tail remained black.  Spring, however, will not be denied and there, in the swamp, I found pussywillows in bloom.